Dolphins

Dolphins Bring Nate Burleson In For A Free Agent Visit

DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 24: Nate Burleson #13 of the Detroit Lions celebrates after scoring a touchdown on an 11 yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field on November 24, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Miami Dolphins

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins have signed nearly every free agent that has come in for a visit. Veteran wide receiver Nate Burleson is Thursday’s visitor to Davie, according to the NFL Network.

But with a strong wide receiving corps already in place, the visit raises some eyebrows.

Burleson, 32, has 457 passes for 5,630 yards and 39 touchdowns for his career. The veteran receiver played in nine games for the Detroit Lions last year, including eight starts. He finished with 39 catches for 461 yards and one touchdown.

The Dolphins already have starters Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson and Rishard Matthews on the roster at wide receiver. The Dolphins are also reportedly high on Armon Binns, who is rehabbing from a knee injury suffered last year.

Burleson would likely at best be a number five receiver, unless Hartline or Gibson are not as far along in their recoveries from season-ending injuries as the Dolphins had expected at this point.

On the other hand, bringing in Burleson as an insurance policy could give the Dolphins another avenue to explore.

CBSSports.com’s Jason LaCanfora has twice reported the Dolphins have been shopping Mike Wallace to other teams.

While Wallace’s contract makes trading him almost impossible, having Burleson in house could free up the Dolphins to draft a young receiver from the deep class coming into the 2014 NFL Draft. Burleson on a veteran deal and a second-round pick would be much cheaper than holding onto Wallace’s contract.

Still, Wallace has been told by the team that he’s not on the trading block and the Dolphins have repeatedly denied LaCanfora’s reports.